Brandon Vera Interview

If anything else, you cannot accuse Brandon Vera of being a dull interview; speaking of which, the Baltimore Sun’s Mark Chalifoux recently was granted an interview by Vera. Vera talks about his upcoming fight with Reese Andy and a bunch of other MMA topics; below are some excerpts:

MMA Stomping Grounds: How did this fight with Andy come together?

Brandon Vera: I told the UFC I wanted to fight ASAP. They came in with a whole bunch of different options and I guess you could say I just took it.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Did they offer you any other fighters besides Reese Andy?

Brandon Vera: They offered me Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Lyoto Machida and then Reese Andy. I turned down Machida. He’s not someone you take on short notice. You gotta get ready for Machida. The other fighters turned down the other fights so that’s how we came to Reese.

MMA Stomping Grounds: With you moving down to 205 and with Rich Franklin and Anderson Silva moving up to 205, do you feel more pressure to win knowing this is the most stacked division in the UFC?

Brandon Vera: No, not at all. I’m not worried about it. I don’t succumb to pressure like that at all and don’t think about stuff like that. There are a lot of great fighters I’m excited to fight but I’m not feeling any pressure.

MMA Stomping Grounds: If you and Anderson Silva both win, would you be willing to fight him at 205?

Brandon Vera: I would be willing to fight anyone they put in front of me. [The UFC’s light heavyweight division] is stacked like you said, for sure, so I’m down to fight any of those guys whenever.

MMA Stomping Grounds: Andy isn’t a household name for a lot of fans, so what can you tell us about him?

Brandon Vera: He’s a three-time All-American wrestler. He’s tough and likes to take people to the ground and pound them. He’s competed in Abu Dhabi a couple times so his grappling level is pretty good. And he’s always in shape.